Facilities such as recyclers, printers, distribution centers, and grocery stores handle large amounts of waste materials such as paper, cardboard, municipal solid waste (typical office and/or household trash), and other refuse. These and other facilities often use baler machines for compacting and baling the waste materials into bundles that can be efficiently hauled away and disposed of.
Conventional balers include a compacting chamber and a ram-operated platen that moves horizontally to downwardly shear and compact the material in the chamber. In one known type of baler, the platen slides along the bottom of the chamber. This design provides a close fit between the platen and the chamber walls so that debris does not get under the moving platen. But because of the huge frictional forces generated between the heavy and downwardly shearing platen and the chamber bottom, a very powerful and energy-hungry ram is required to push the platen.
In another known type of baler, the platen is mounted on steel wheels that support its weight (and some of the weight of the ram) as the platen rolls along the bottom wall or rails of the chamber. But to support all this weight on the rigid wheels, the bottom of the platen is spaced slightly above the bottom of the chamber, leaving a small gap between the platen and the chamber bottom. As a result, when the platen rolls through the chamber to compact the material, debris can get through the gap. When the wheels roll over the debris, this elevates the platen and jams it against the top wall or guides of the chamber. This can cause the baler to seize up, and an operator must then stop the machine and clear the jam.
To avoid this problem, some balers have wipers or brushes to remove the debris before the wheels encounter it. But these wipers or brushes are not fool-proof and they require periodic maintenance and replacement, thereby adding to the costs of buying, operating, and maintaining the baler machine.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need remains for a baler with a platen that compacts paper and/or other waste material in a highly efficient manner without periodically seizing up. In particular, there is a need for such a platen that compacts the waste material by a low-friction platen motion and that does not permit debris under the platen. Furthermore, a need exists for such a machine that can be operated to bale the waste material into bundles that can be efficiently hauled away for disposal. It is to the provision of a machine meeting these and/or other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.